The odds are in Southern’s favor this weekend as the 3-4 Women’s Volleyball team takes on three teams with a collective record of 0-17. Tennessee State, Chicago State and Winthrop have faced tough opponents this season, but so have the Eagles. With victories against Binghamton, Bethune-Cookman and Georgia, Southern will be looking to win big as they host the Bash in the ‘Boro in Hanner on Friday.

Among the three teams Southern will play, Tennessee State has the best record. But this is a consequence of playing fewer matches. The Tigers played in the Magnolia Invitational on August 28 – 29. They competed against 4-2 Oral Roberts, 2-5 Northwestern State and 7-1 Ole Miss. None of the matches went the distance for the Tigers, as they either lost 1-3 or 0-3 in each match. Their most recent match on Saturday, Sept. 5 against a 2-2 Samford resulted in a 2-3 defeat.

Junior Arijana Anderson, Junior Chloe Watson and Senior Madison Halterman for the Tigers all came up big against Samford. Although they lost a close one, the team showed promise. As the first match of the tournament for the Eagles, the tempo needs to be high or the Tigers might find an opening.

The tournament competition will continue when Southern plays against Winthrop on Friday at 7 p.m.

Winthrop has had a difficult season so far. In the Tiger Invitational and Carolina Challenge, the Winthrop Eagles went 0-3 both times. When they played a regular season match against South Carolina Upstate, the team lost 0-3. A 0-7 season as of now, Winthrop wants redemption when they come to Statesboro. Redshirt Freshman Lourdes Rosario is leading their team with 92 kills. She is the one to look out for when the two Eagles teams meet.

Southern’s final match will be against Chicago State on Saturday at 10 a.m. The Cougars started the season with the Women of Troy Baden Invitational, where they went 0-3 against BYU, USC and North Carolina. They then competed in the University of Illinois at Chicago Invitational. Another 0-3 performance against Central Connecticut State, Morgan State and UIC has led the Cougars to a 0-6 record currently.

Junior Elli Woinowsky and Sophomore Arieta Vaimaona are tied for 47 kills for Chicago State. They are leading the team in kills as of now.

Georgia Southern has lost matches based on one-dimensional play, overreliance on certain players and loss of tempo. Their victories come from discipline, high-octane performance and the team coming up big when they needed to. Freshman Stephanie Spencer has been enormous for the Eagles this season. Her 80 kills in seven matches has been significant. Junior Katie Bange, Redshirt Junior Crysten Curry, Freshman Lauren Reichard and Redshirt Junior Alex Beecher have also been pivotal to the Eagles’ success so far.

Friday, Sept. 11 will be the start of the Bash in the ‘Boro. At noon, the Eagles will take the court in the Hanner Fieldhouse to compete against the Tennessee State Tigers.